The Santa Cruz is a textbook example of a truck that critics and auto writers like myself cheer for while buyers yawn.

Consider me a witness for the defense and prosecution.

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The Hyundai Santa Cruz crossover truck concept is introduced to the media during the 2015 North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center on Monday, Jan.12, 2015 in Detroit.(Photo: Jessica J. Trevino, Detroit Free Press)

Defense:

I loved the looks and size of the Santa Cruz concept truck Hyundai revealed at the 2015 Detroit auto show. The gorgeous concept drew throngs of admirers to Hyundai’s stand.

Hyundai’s leaders immediately said they might build the Santa Cruz, the first act in a dance of the seven veils choreographed to distract from the fact that the brand relied too much on cars as the market shifted to trucks and SUVs.

I can’t wait to drive the eventual production model, despite the fact that Hyundai still hasn’t said when it’s coming.

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The secret is out! Hyundai unveiled the new Santa Cruz crossover truck at the North America International Auto Show.
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Prosecution:

The American public routinely ignores critically acclaimed pickups that are too small, or too much like a car to meet their idea of what constitutes a “real” pickup.

It takes more than four wheels and a cargo bed. Vehicles like the Santa Cruz, with a car-type chassis, pickup looks and minimal cargo and towing capacity have historically flopped.

Hyundai does not sell a pickup in the U.S. market. And the Santa Cruz probably won't target traditional pickup buyers. Instead, the company said in 2015 that the concept was aimed at consumers who would usually buy a crossover or sedan but would like "greater utility without the compromises that traditional trucks often require."

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The production Santa Cruz is expected to use the same platform as Hyundai’s Tucson compact SUV. That sounds like a great idea, until you ask an elementary question: What will it do that the Tucson can’t?

Probably not much. The passenger compartment will be about the same as the SUV, maybe smaller. Cargo space will theoretically be bigger, since the Santa Cruz won’t have a roof, but payload — the weight of the cargo you can carry — isn’t likely to change much. Fuel economy will be in the same ballpark, unless Hyundai shortchanges the pickup on power, and does anybody think that’s a good idea?

What do those pickups have in common? They’re all attractive and based on car-type platforms. Just like the Santa Cruz.

None of them except for the Honda Ridgeline is still sold in the U.S. today. The Ridgeline was the 2017 North American Truck of the Year, but Honda had sold just 21,182 through July. That’s less than half as many as the oldest truck-platform pickup on the market, the Nissan Frontier.

I thoroughly enjoy driving the Ridgeline, and I liked most of those other trucks. But I’m not the customer. Nor are most of my fellow car reviewers.

The things we admire about the Ridgeline and Santa Cruz are not the reasons most people buy pickups. Car reviewers sometimes make the mistake of judging innovative small pickups by the same criteria as the cars we like, not the pickups Americans buy.

That’s not to say you should disregard the judgment of critics and auto writers. Well, not my judgment, anyway. What people like me have to understand is that there’s a difference between liking a vehicle and understanding why people will buy it. Or why they won’t.

Listen to Anita Burke, chief engineer of GM’s successful Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup. She’s internalized the voice of the customer to the point that she probably hears it in her sleep.

“The customer wanted the versatility of a pickup box, but not to give up comfort and features that are in every other vehicle,” Burke says.

Her team responded with a truck that was more capable than the competition, not less. The result: 61,507 Colorado sales this year, second only to the Toyota Tacoma among midsize pickups.

How will the new Santa Cruz offer more of what buyers want? Unless Hyundai has an answer to that question, it’s hard to see how the Santa Cruz will outperform its forerunners.